Adjessi
The Yuan-ti are a race of serpent people living in the desert of Gyhan. They are usually of an evil alignment, though there have been exceptions. History Origin It is believed that an ancient being known as Wadjess gave birth to Londorwin's first serpents. The smallest of these serpents flourished in the deserts of Gyhan. The story goes that one day as Wadjess was slithering along she came across a grisly scene. The hawks of the desert had massacred and eaten most of the small serpents. She wept for her fallen children and her tears created an oasis where the small serpents took refuge from the hawks above. The waters of this oasis contained some of Wadjess' life giving energies which overtime began to affect her children. At first they had grown in size and could no longer hide in the brush. With the serpents now in the open, the hawks became bold and began attacking them once again. Next the serpents grew arms, which they used to snatch the hawks from the air. Now the serpents began eating the hawks in retaliation. Realizing the scale was no longer in their favor, the hawks flew from the oasis. This saddened the serpents as they had grown accustomed to the taste of the birds. Soon however the serpents would develop legs allowing them to move farther and faster. It wouldn't be long before the serpents left the oasis to hunt the hawks. Overtime these serpents came to call themselves Yuan-ti or Adjessi-ra (light of Wadjess). Overtime they would learn to craft weapons and art. They built beautiful cities and glorious monuments to their serpent gods. As the Yuan-ti spread through the deserts, the oasis that had given so much was lost to them and became a place from myths and superstition. The First Dynasty Not much is known about the first dynasty of the Yuan-ti. It is referred to as Najass-ra (light of the cobra) after first Pharaoh of the Yuan-ti. All that remains of this time are ancient ruins and monuments buried in the sands. Second Dynasty The second dynasty was a time of civil unrest for the Yuan-ti. During this period known as Asakha-sek (unity of the two powers), Two Pharaohs ruled over the Yuan-ti. Tepesekh and his kingdom worshiped Sseth as their patron deity. Their culture was based on quiet acclamation of power through assassination and espionage. Meanwhile Anebi and his people chose Asaraj as their god-king. They believed the Yuan-ti should not hide in the sand content with slowly gaining control. They conquered through fear and a show of strength. The two Pharaohs tried hard to maintain peace and cooperation between their two nations. But the political rivalry was never fully resolved and in time the situation worsened into conflict. It wasn't until Tepesekh's son Akhass took his father's place as Pharaoh of Tepes-ra kingdom, that the rival factions found peace. Akhass spoke of how Asaraj and Sseth were brothers. He explained that brothers can disagree, but they should never seek to destroy each other. Because Asaraj and Sseth were gods they had to be more enlightened then the Yuan-ti and surely they understood the bond between brothers more than any other. This seemed to make sense to Anebi as the nations soon unified through the marriage of Akhass and Anebi's daughter Njessi. Third Dynasty Peace and unity led to a prosperous age that marked the time in which many of the modern day Yuan-ti cities such as Emphiss were built. It also saw the rise of the Oser-ra dynasty. During this time there were no chief gods as all were worshiped as equals. The Yuan-ti people became secluded during this era, shutting themselves off from the outside world and their neighboring races. One of these neighbors were the Savage elves who saw the newfound passiveness of the Yuan-ti as a perfect opportunity to catch their ancient enemies by surprise. Because much of the advancements made by the Yuan-ti during this period of time were of a more cultural nature, the Yuan-ti were just as unprepared for an assault as the Elves had hoped. When the attacks began thousands died or were captured with very little resistance. The last Pharaoh of the Oser-ra dynasty, Ssuni had quickly made efforts to retalitate. He personally led armies into battle against the savage elves. Though they were able to keep the elves from pushing any further into Yuan-ti land, Ssuni's armies were unable to reclaim their lost territory. In a final attempt to push to Emphiss, the elves gathered as many of their soldiers they could spare to the front. As the Yuan-ti no longer had a standing army, the majority of their forces consisted of civilians who had taken up weapons and joined Ssuni's effort. Those who were trained in combat were temple guards and Asaraji preists. They stood little chance against the elves superior numbers and training. As the Yuan-ti soldiers started dying by the hundreds, they seemed to be losing all hope. In a final desperate attempt to save his people, Ssuni got to his knees and prayed to any of their gods who were listening. He promised his soul in exchange for help against the Elves. His pleas were answered by a sibilant, malignant voice that sent a shiver through Ssuni's body. The Mother of Nightmares, Ophissra Category:Races Category:Gyhan